Under Cover in Chesterfield

As a tribute to the “Mass-Observation” movement, Godfrey Holmes spends a whole day people-watching in the town… with some surprising results.

WHENEVER a well-dressed stranger sidled into the back of our chapel – a full minute before 10.45 – my mother would whisper: “Shush, there’s a spy!” So it is that now, decades later, and enthusiastically embracing the concept of participant-observation, not only am I the spy; I am compelled to imitate that first sermon-taster’s tact and discretion…